History in the Eye of the Beholder? Social Location and Allegations of Racial/Colonial Biases in Reconstructions of Sennacherib’s Invasion of Judah

Paul S Evans

Abstract

Sennacherib’s third campaign is one of the more thoroughly inves- tigated events that intersects with biblical history. The fact that there are three biblical narratives (2 Kgs 18–19; Isa 36–37; 2 Chr 32) concerned with the Assyrian campaign against Judah under- scores its obvious importance to the biblical writers. The existence of multiple copies of Assyrian annals that refer to these events, as well as the “Lachish reliefs” pictorially depicting the Assyrian siege and sacking of the Judahite city during the same campaign, likely explains why the events have captured the imagination of biblical scholars and historians alike.1 Some of the chief debates concerning